In the rapid transition from print journals to electronic formats, librarians have been forced to realise that their knowledge of copyright law is no longer the key area because buying access to journals through licensed databases will usually require familiarity with contract law. This new book by Lipinski, a vastly experienced writer with a legal and academic background, provides the reader with both basic and advanced concepts in contract and licensing law. This is a huge book at over 700 pages. It is divided into three parts; part 1 lays out the essential concepts of contract law; part 2 describes the general categories of licenses that libraries are most likely to use, including those for non-print resources. Part 3 introduces the practical to the mix, including a ’Basic Licensing Glossary’ of numerous license terms; a detailed analysis of four actual licenses (i.e. BioOne, NewspaperARCHIVE, Nature, and Amazon's Kindle); key issues to look for in licensing agreements, accompanied by sample clauses to look for in licenses; and a list of over 100 questions to ask when evaluating specific licenses. The book has a detailed table of contents and a good subject index. There is an extensive glossary and a separate index for referenced cases and laws.
It is a definitive sourcebook on all issues to do with licensing in libraries, including copyright and contract matters, general contract law concepts, developments in online and information contracting, and the advantages and disadvantages of licensing. Readers will be given advice on how to interpret previously impenetrable legal writing, on how to negotiate seemingly unacceptable contract or licence terms and replace them with library-friendly alternatives, and they will read detailed explanations of specific licenses as well as get the benefit of a discussion of issues regarding online and information contracting. This book will give you the ability to play an active role when deciding the terms of a contract, or at the very least allow you to evaluate whether the terms are favourable or not. There are few other works in this field. This book is more thorough than Harris' Licensing Digital Content: A Practical Guide for Librarians (2d ed., ALA, 2010), including as it does numerous references to relevant cases and laws (USA laws, it needs to be said). I recommend this book to all librarians as an essential reference, and for those working with electronic resources I would say do not be distracted by the price, it really must be purchased for the staff collection.
